Phillips would like to thank Celia Bertoia of the Harry Bertoia Foundation for her assistance cataloguing the present lot.

For a short period of time, between 1955 and 1962, Harry Bertoia experimented with a technique using welded cut nails to create sculptural plant-like forms. Partly inspired by a trip to his birthplace in Italy during this period in which he sought to manifest the energy and radiance of a sunburst, the present lot embodies an aesthetic preoccupation that enjoyed significant longevity in Bertoia’s work. This sunburst shape is considered the precursor for Bertoia’s "Bush" and "Dandelion" forms and the present lot is an example of this important transitional period in his technique and style.